Freelance Writing Jobs

Quote of the Day: There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way.–Christopher Morley

Publisher’s Notes:Good morning. Two notes today, first from Ilanna about EBSCO: “This is to confirm that my experience with EBSCO has now been positive as well.”Thanks Ilana. That’s wonderful to know!

And next is Letty, seeking unusual questions:

“I know that most of you count on good ol’ Letty for insights to romance and relationships, however, this time I need your questions. Not intimate ones.
I need to know anything that you want the answer to; oddball type stuff, things that boggle you or just tidbits that you’ve always wondered about.

Here is why I so desperately need you input: I am part of a writer’s think-tank of sorts, compiling answers to some of the weird, wacky and out-of-the-ordinary stuff that people wonder about for a series of books.

PLEASE, send me some questions.

Ask around the office,

Play a game with it at Happy Hour,

Use it to break the ice with the hot new temp in accounting.

I don’t care what methods you use, I need questions pronto.

I know I can count on you, the way you count on me to give you the best damn advice money can buy, even though you guys and gals get it for free.

So again, please, please, please, send me some questions.

Here are some examples:

Can you drink pee?

Where did the term, everything is hunky-dory come from?

What is the number-one, worst, most offensive odor?

Is a dog’s mouth really cleaner than mine?

Where does the term “’til the cows come home” come from?

Why do people love o watch car wrecks?

Thanks in advance, and really, this can be fun, ask around and send me all he questions you hear.

You can reply right here or email me at help@letlettyhelp.com.”

Thanks Letty!

That’s everything for today. Have a good day!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 41 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.–Francis BaconPublisher’s Notes:Two responses today in response to the possibly suspect job listing that Letty mentioned. The first is from Eric:“Letty was absolutely correct to urge caution. But if an ad appeals, you sometimes have to trust your instincts. I saw a “blind” ad in Freelance Daily over a year ago that screamed SCAM. A gmail address promising riches writing for a “top consulting firm.” I wrote, revealing little except my credentials. Went through two cycles of curiously mysterious blinded e-mails. Ending up with one of the most profitable ongoing freelance gigs I’ve ever encountered with what turned out to actually be a top-tier consulting firm. The editorial director had used a blind lead to screen out the dozens? hundreds? Of responses he feared had he used the company name in the first ad. So the writer’s correct - caveat lector - but don’t always dismiss out of hand. (p.s. - I also found a fantastic, mint condition bike for my daughter for $3 at a yard sale last weekend - Life is good!)”
The second is from Faye:“I have worked with Westside Media Group through a publicist. Many of them use their personal email addresses. He’s right about the crazy politics there! It’s a very prestigious group to write for and they are quite persnickety about the fact that articles must be related to the “West Side” and be upscale, edgey, etc. Don’t let the aol address deter my fellow freelancers from applying if they have something that fits their criteria. Still, as in most papers, they don’t pay well. It’s just a fact of the newspaper industry.”

Thanks Eric and Faye!

That’s all for today. Have a good day!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 41 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.–Anais Nin

Publisher’s Notes:

Good morning! First up today is Letty, about a job listing in yesterday’s newsletter:“My “spidey senses” were atingle when I read this post. Namely because it flaunts a big publication heading and the contact email is to a personal AOL address. This does not jibe with what a BIG name publication would do. I don’t have enough evidence for a warrant but circumstantial evidence has been enough to hang many a perp.
(Can you tell I’ve been catching up on my Law & Order episodes?)

Here is the posting:

Great, Imaginative Writers Wanted to Shake Things Up - Contract (Comp: Send per-word or per-article rate) (Westside, Los Angeles)
WestsideMediaGuy@aol.com : http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/wri/721135282.html
17-year-old Westside Today (formerly Brentwood Media Group) publishes six monthly community newsmagazines across the Westside (Beverly Hills 90210, Bel-Air View, Brentwood News, Santa Monica Sun, Palisades 90272 and Malibu Beach). We have 55,000 circulation, mostly home delivered. You can find us at www.WestsideToday.com. We are in a growth mode, we just upgraded our format and will soon add circulation. We seek to upgrade our journalism so as to make this a “must read” publication. Each month we’d like to run 2-3 “blockbuster” stories that people will actually read — and talk about. We reach a very influential audience; stories you write might actually make a difference. This is not a staff position, we want to work with freelancers in order to obtain these stories. If you had a full-time job with us, you’d get caught up in the day-to-day drama and we really want you to keep your brain fresh. That said, if you become one of our regular contributors, and later a job opens, you’d be at the head of the line. Almost all our full-timers start as freelancers. We invite you to THINK BIG and submit five or ten story ideas you’d like to write for us. The stories could be investigative, informative, entertaining, great interviews, business-oriented, celebrity-driven, whatever you like. The ideas could be serious, fun, historical, forward-looking — anything at all. All we ask is that your ideas be interesting, compelling, real grabbers. Knowledge of the Westside, its history, its issues and its people is a big plus. Send your story ideas and a few brief paragraphs about yourself telling us why you’re wonderful. Tell us also what you would expect to earn, on a per-word or per article basis. These articles will likely be in the 800 - 1500 words range, plus photos. Please don’t worry that we are somehow trying to “steal” your ideas. We’re too busy. If your ideas are great and you can write, you get to do them (and we’ll be thrilled). We do insist that you follow all rules of journalism (fairness, accuracy, balance, proper spelling, AP Style, facts all checked and sourced, quotes are correct, etc.). Stretch a little, have some fun with this. Send a note telling us a little about your background along with your best ideas to: WestsideMediaGuy@aol.com. We look forward to hearing from you.”

Thanks Letty!

Kerri has information on the author featured on her blog this week:

“Today, on KC’s Writers Blog, I have Lorna Collier, a Chicago-area based journalist and author. Lorna talks about her book, “Tilli’s Story: My Thoughts are Free,” a book about a young East German girl’s experiences living under first Hitler and then Stalin, before escaping to freedom by herself at age 16 in the bottom of a potato wagon. The book shows what life is like when lived under totalitarian regimes and demonstrates the value of freedom.

Sounds like a great story, right? It is, but Lorna also talks about the mounds of publisher rejections that piled up before the two decided to self-publish. Traditional publishers rely heavily on their research data of how much a book will sell - but sometimes its wrong.

Now the book has sold over 5,000 copies and the authors still hope a traditional publisher will pick it up.

Read and learn from Lorna’s interview, ask her a question in the comments section before 5 p.m. today and you just might get drawn to have your question answered on the front page of the blog on Thursday - and you will also pick up a great summer read in the form of a free copy of “Tilli’s Story!” www.kcwrite4u.blogspot.com”

Thanks Kerri!

That’s it for today. Have a good day!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 33 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: Although I usually think I know what I’m going to be writing about, what I’m going to say, most of the time it doesn’t happen that way at all. At some point I get misled down a garden path, I get surprised by an idea that I hadn’t anticipated getting, which is a little bit like being in a laboratory.

–Lewis Thomas

Publisher’s Notes:Good morning everyone! Hope your weekend was fruitful.

This week, as with last week and in weeks to come during the rest of the summer, send in whatever you’d like. Send in any writing-related questions. Send any stories you might have about any recent writing sessions you had that were inspirational, or even troublesome. Send any remarks that may be inspired by the quote of the day. Anything you have in mind, send it in and I’ll post it here.

Have a great day!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 58 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: A reader has to be concerned only with the end result; unless he chooses to analyze it, he does not have to know by what means that result was achieved—but it is my job to know.

–Ayn Rand

Publisher’s Notes:There are two responses today to Ilanna’s question yesterday about the reputation of the research company EBSCO. The first is from Larisa:

“Just wanted to say that I have worked with the company EBSCO. I am certain that they will pay for the writer’s assignment - provided that it meets expectations.

I found the editor that I dealt with there to be really friendly - I was paid 3 weeks after submission as well.”

The second is from Anna:

“EBSCO is a reputable firm that publishes Historical Abstracts, a database of the abstracts of journal articles written by academics. As I am a historian (as well as a writer), I contacted them, and they sent me an article to abstract as a “test,” which after waiting a couple of days, I passed. I received my first assignment of ten articles to abstract the next day along with a template. They send you the journals, or you can opt to get them online. For me, it is a great way to keep up with the field and get paid for reading articles I would read anyhow.

I’m not sure what happened with Ilanna, but so far my experience has been positive.”

Thanks Larisa and Anna!

That finishes out this week. Have a terrific weekend!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 41 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential.–Jessamyn West

Publisher’s Notes:

Good morning! Faye has some words about this week’s question:“I noticed today’s quote — very poignant given the fact that there have been no answers to the question you posted on Monday! Guess everybody is so busy with projects this week, they haven’t had time to answer.

One of the things I have learned as a freelancer is how good my writing is and that I can do some things as an editor that are uncommon in the marketplace. I have been looking for ways to capitalize on that from a marketing perspective.

I have also been learning how long things take me and how much I need to charge in order to live off my work. That, in turn, has led me to look for ways to find the clients who will pay what I’m worth, without balking. Still working on that. If anyone has any words of wisdom, I’d sure love to hear!

Because I am very versatile (marcom, article writing, book editing, magazine copy editing, course writing…) I have been experimenting to find my most comfortable niches and where my expertise really lies. I like the variety and haven’t figured out an answer to that yet, although I love book editing and have a great deal to offer there because of the depth in which I work.

Thanks for the great job you’re doing!”

Thanks Faye!

That’s it for today. Have a wonderful day!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 65 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.–James Thurber

Publisher’s Notes:

Have a good day!*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 49 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

Quote of the Day: Nothing will work unless you do.–Maya Angelou

Publisher’s Notes:

Nothing new today. Have a good day!*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 47 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

 

Quote of the Day: The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes.–Andre Gide

Publisher’s Notes:

Good morning everyone! Hope your weekend had everything in it that you wanted to do.This week’s question is about all of freelance writing in general. What have you learned from the continuous experiences of being a freelance writer that strikes you as most important?Send your answers to contact@freelancedaily.net and they’ll be right here.

Have a great day!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 54 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net

 

Quote of the Day: Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.–Franklin D. Roosevelt

Publisher’s Notes:

That’s it for this week. Make sure to take some time for yourself, away from work.Have a terrific weekend!

*SmiLes* Suzanne Franco

P.S. We posted 46 new freelance job leads today – if you don’t have a subscription to our daily job source newsletter get your free trial today http://www.freelancedaily.net